


Devushka

by NachieScorp



Category: Better Call Saul (TV), Breaking Bad
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-06-30 18:52:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15757647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachieScorp/pseuds/NachieScorp
Summary: Living the high life in Albuquerque, New Mexico is no problem for our girl, Dominika. Already playing in the same field as the cartel, Nika encounters even more troubling situations that are literally life and death. What she encounters, what she experiences, is quite literally life changing.





	1. Volkov

**Author's Note:**

> This work is based on the tv show Better call Saul, where some relationships are played behind the scenes of the show. 
> 
> Throughout the story there are some scenes which are in the warning section. Such as attempted suicide, strong violence, rape and so fourth. If you get triggered by any of these subjects, please do not read. 
> 
> It does have a pretty slow start, and Nacho won’t appear just yet, but trust me...he will. It’s all about story telling. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this fanfic! Let’s do this.

Albuquerque, New Mexico. The home of sand, violence and drugs. Everyday is a different day with the same old stuff, same old situations involving gangs, illegal deals and the occasional street whore. On one particular evening in the year of 2002, the streets are slowly emptying of ordinary individuals. The odd dog walker can be seen strolling under the little to no lights that beam above the streets. Those people are brave though, due to the countless amounts of gangs and drug dealers that come out and lurk at night. It is common knowledge that this particular Albuquerque street is always teaming with these sorts of people. But, not everyone is scared of the nightlife in this town.

Casually walking through the dark streets is a young, pretty, slim built grey haired woman with a confident step in her toes. With her black hood shielding most of her head and face, she also wears a threatening snarl in attempt to scare off any potential threats or attackers. Her head is bowed low, but this does not stop her from flashing her evil snarl every time a passer by brushes past her. With her hands firmly in her woven pockets, she walks up towards a detached, lonesome building that is not far from others. There, stands a group of typically dressed Mexicans that are obviously guarding the entrance. Some are stood while a few are sitting at the step, smoking what seems to be weed or some other form of paraphernalia. The lone female keeps her head low and her face partially hidden by her hood, but is by no means scared of the group of men that are staring at her. Silently, she walks past them and heads up the dark stairs that leads into a small hallway. There stands another couple of men that guard yet another door. The only difference is, this door is shielded by a metal, lockable fence. This does not phase the woman as she’s a regular to this place. She walks through the metal gate and stands in front of the men. The woman lifts her head slowly and gives the men another evil glare, knowing what is expected of her. She then lifts her arms and stretches them either side of her, now standing still as one man swiftly pats her down to check for any weapons or threatening objects. When he’s satisfied that she’s clean, he steps back and leans his shoulder against the doorframe to the next room. With a roll of her eyes and a silent huff, the woman drops her arms, making an audible thud against her sides. Waiting for a signal or a wave off a mexican to be let inside, the female opens the door to the room. Looking calm and casual, she walks through the room towards a dark brown table, where sits a more well built Mexican male, looking like the alpha of the pack. The male is on his cellphone, being very obnoxious and trying to make sure his connection is doing what he planned. As soon as he spots the woman, he gestures for her to sit in the worn looking chair in front of his desk. After a long minute he hangs up the call and relaxes back into his leather chair with his legs spread.

As the woman gets closer to the desk, she looks out of the window to her right that overlooks the ghost town. Now at the desk, she tosses a sealed bag of what looks like a packet of white meth he gave her to sell. It lands just opposite him at the edge of the table. As he stares blankly at it, the female sits comfortably with her legs crossed and her arms lay on its rests. She looks tired but relaxed after her full day of dealing on the streets. Her head hangs backwards as her black smokey blue eyes stare at the cracked ceiling. 

While observing the leftover package, he picks up the bag and holds it up with two fingers, glaring at her with an eerie silence. “What’s this?... Why are you giving me this?” Tuco says with his typical low growl. He tosses it back to her in a harsh manner, the bag landing on the edge again. “Money.” He says slowly while glaring right at her. He takes his right index finger and points it at her. “I need that fucking cash, woman.” As he stops talking, she forces herself to not roll her eyes at Tuco, deciding it's a pretty bad idea to anger him, since she knows what he’s capable of. She keeps a blank expression while staring at the ceiling, then lifts her head up to glare at the drug lord. Slowly raising her eyebrow, she leans forwards as her hand goes into her back jeans pocket for the cash he’s waiting for. Suddenly, a wedge of cash tied with an elastic band appears in her grip. Again, it is tossed over the desk at Tuco. She sits back with a cocky attitude, pointing at the white bag again. “Excess. I couldn’t find a buyer for it. Everyone was-...I don’t know...high enough.” Nika says, her accent is thick Russian, but soft at the tongue. Tuco keeps on staring at her with narrowed eyes, lightly bobbing in his chair. “Then keep it until you sell it.” He says harshly, then grabs the wedge of money as he smiles with a faint chuckle. “This is good...real good. You’re making me moolah and I like it.” He gives her an eerie grin as he counts the cash, which takes him a good couple of minutes. When done, he gives her back her cut and then some as a bonus for good work. With a quick movement, he ends up at his safe where he keeps his stash, and takes out more supply for her to sell. As he closes it, he tosses it right at her, making it hit her lap. She looks down at it carelessly, then back up to Tuco with the same expression. While still standing, he points his finger at her again, not looking amused at all. “This time, don’t bring me back any. I just want that money...Throw that shit in my face again, we’ll have a problem.” He says in a low growl. Nika stays calm while in her chair, then stands up slowly, pushing on her palms. She watches him with piercing eyes. “I didn’t know what to do with it. It’s useless as it is. No fucker would separate their cash for that small amount.” She puts her cash in her jeans pocket again, then lifts up her other palm to gesture her peace just before walking backwards towards the exit. Still standing at his desk, he steps closer to his chair and plops back down onto it, almost bouncing. “Keep dropping off cash like this and we’ll make good friends.” He starts to count his half again, shuffling the bills in his fingers. He does this with a low laugh. “Hell yeah…” He nods to himself with approval, grinning at his earnings. Now at the door, Nika shakes her head, slow enough so the man doesn’t notice, thinking how much of a crazy dick he really is. She swings the door open and lets it close behind her, then hurries down the dark staircase. The same group of men as before watch her reappear from the darkness as they smoke their cigarettes. Nika walks through their smoke cloud without being phased and looks over her shoulder, giving them a sarcastic smirk. “Good evening, Gentlemen.” She chimes, and goes on her way down the sidewalk. The guys laugh and wolf whistle at her. “Oh good afternoon Russian beauty!” One remarks. The other laughs, saying, “She looks more like a witch”, talking about her gothic appearance. This makes the group laugh. “A Russian witch. Ha, that’s fuckin’ new.” Another adds. From a short distance up the road, the female can still hear the guys joking about her. This makes her smile mischievously, and turns around to look back at them while now walking backwards. Returning the same smirk, she extents her arm and flips the middle finger. “Do you want me to smack you with my Russian fist? Because I fucking would. Don’t push my buttons!” She shouts angrily, then turns back around to disappear down the street, now heading home. The guys keep laughing and goes back to their conversations.

With the building now out of sight, Nika takes out her wedge of cash while consciously looking around her surroundings. Holding it tightly in her palm, she stares at it with a wide smile, proud of how much she made. Suddenly, a red Chevy van drives past, almost startling her. She quickly puts the cash in her pocket as she watches the van stop outside the same building briefly. She ignores it and carries on walking home. It doesn’t take her long to arrive at her aunt's house, whom she sometimes lives with. Strolling up the path, Nika knocks on the door and waits patiently, not having a key of her own. After a while she becomes anxious, until the aunt appears at the first door. “Oh, Nik…” The Aunt looks tired as she opens the screen door to let her in. “How are you my niece?” She asks as Nika walks in with an equal tired expression. Nik smiles at her Auntie while her eyes squint at how brightly lit the house is, the lights almost blinding her. “Hey aunt. Yeah yeah I’m good...whatever. How’s ya back?” She asks as she goes straight into the living room and crashes her back on the couch, making one leg hang off the edge. Her arms cover her face and eyes. The aunt walks into the kitchen that is open to the living room, being able to see her niece as she makes her a shot of whiskey, as per usual of her frequent visits. “Oh, same as always.” She puts the whiskey bottle back into the cabinet and walks through the open plan house. She comes in and holds it out to Nika. “You should get some rest. I think I’ll do the same.” The aunt smiles. Nika removes her arms to notice the shot, then sits up to grab it while forgetting her manners. She knocks the alcohol back in her mouth, squirming at the faint burn in her throat. As she sits there with her eyes closed, and suddenly remembers the cash in her pocket. “Oh!” She exclaims before reaching in her pocket to retrieve the wedge. Starting to shuffle a few hundred bills out, she looks at her aunt with a smirk and holds out the money. “For what I owe you...and overdue rent that I never gave.” Looking startled at the amount of money she’s staring at, the Aunt looks surprised as she takes it. “Oh. Where did you…? ...get all of this?” Although shocked, she smiles at her Niece’s thoughtfulness. “Thank you dear.” She says softly while tugging her dressing gown around her body. With a tired huff the aunt turns around and starts to walk away, but before she can leave the living room, Nika stands up, ignoring her question, and starts to walk behind her, tugging off her hoodie over her head. “Hey, is my stuff still in my room?” She asks while heading towards the stairs. The Aunt stays at a slow pace as she follows her niece to the bottom step of the stairs. “Uuhh, yeah, it’s all there.” Aunt keeps staring at the money, wondering where Nik got it. She gets a horrible thought of where it could be from, but doesn’t share. “Are you staying the night?” She asks, now looking up the stairs as Nika is almost at the top. The niece stops and leans on the banister, looking at the door of her room just ahead of her. Feeling tired and just wanting to sleep, she rubs the corners of her eyes, smudging her black makeup all over. “Uhh...yeah is that cool? I will go somewhere else if it’s a problem. But I don’t know where…” she says without a care, and not really wanting to go anyway. She keeps groaning tiredly, making it obvious that she wants to go to her room. The aunt notices, and just smiles. “No no it’s okay dear.” She says while starting to walk away, but suddenly steps back, poking her head up the stairs again. “Do you want something to eat? I can heat up some fries? I know you like them.” She can’t help but care and worry about her niece, who she only see’s in the late evenings. Nika starts to get annoyed and shakes her head, just wanting to go to bed. She glances at her aunt and smiles before climbing the final set of stairs. “Stop worrying, Kay? I’m good! Already eaten, I just wanna sleep. I gotta get up early to meet some friends.” She lies to her beloved family member just so she leaves her alone. Without another word, Nika walks through her bedroom door and throws her hoodie at her closet. Taking her black boots off, she jumps on her bed and flops out, not even bothering to close her door or curtains. She frowns, re-remembering the lump of cash digging in her butt cheek. Turning onto one side, she takes it out and lies back down, holding the cash in her hand in silence. She thinks about her choices and what she has been doing to earn a living. Now smirking, she thinks about how proud she is of herself, visualising how much more she could earn. Without a second thought, she starts to throw the wedge in the air, beginning her own game of catch. She does this for a solid 30 seconds before getting bored, then shoves the money in her drawer to turn over back onto her side. Still fully clothed, she closes her eyes and doesn’t even bother with getting under the sheets.

Now almost 10 in the morning, Nika has already left the house, dressed and washed. She didn’t bother to tell her Aunt that she was leaving, wanting to not answer her questions so early on in the morning. Wearing the same clothes as yesterday, she follows almost the exact same routine as the day before, arriving at the same building to speak to the same dickhead of a drug dealer. This time, the entrance is bare of Tuco’s henchmen, only having the same pair standing at the top of the stairs. As she climbs to the locked fence gate, she greets the guys in a chirpy tone. “Morning fellas. Is he in yet?” She asks, referring to Tuco as she gestures her head towards the second door. The guys shake their heads. “Nope, and don’t know when. Why? You need somethin’?” One asks her. The other, who’s smoking a cigarette, raises a brow. “Weren’t you here yesterday?” He asks. While staring at them through the grated fence, nika stares at the office door, having her hands tucked in her hoodie pockets. Not looking amused, she bites the inside of her lip, getting agitated. “Well, yeah...but I was wondering if there was any more shit for me to sell...know what I mean?” She asks cryptically, sighing while rubbing her eyes. The guys look confused, giving her a weird glare. “He didn’t give you the supply before you left?” The guy looks at the other, thinking she’s going crazy. The other starts to chuckle, stubbing his cigarette out onto the wall. “Yeah well, regardless, she’ll have to come back when he’s actually here, so…” he shrugs, not really giving a crap. Nika gets annoyed and uses all of her willpower to not snap at them. Biting her tongue, she sighs again and decides to agree with them, now staring back down at the stairs. “He gave me a batch but I wanted more. I uh...normally get more customers in the mornings.” She looks back at them, noticing that they aren’t listening. She smiles sarcastically and huffs. “Fine, I’ll piss off then...see you guys when fucking ever…” before leaving, she salutes with two fingers bouncing off of her forehead, then heads down the stairs. 

 

During the rest of her day, Nik does her thing and wonders the streets with her supply tucked tightly in her pockets. The meth is separated into small snap bags with a tiny amount in each. She heads to her usual spots and talks to her usual customers, using her Russian charm and charisma to win some deals. As she does her thing, Tuco suddenly drives up and rolls his windows down, parking close to the sidewalk. He sticks his head out of the window and whistles at her. “If it isn’t my little Russian worker.” He laughs obnoxiously while gesturing at his new car rims. “Thanks to you, I got this baby an extra gift. You keep this up and I’ll have something special for you.” he smirks. Hearing the familiar voice coming from behind her, she smiles while finishing up a deal with a the popular street whore, waiting for her to walk away so Nika can direct her attention to the drug lord. Smirking, she slowly turns around to walk up to the car and folds her arms, putting most of her weight on one leg. She looks over his car with an impressed expression. “Nice look. Looking forward to what you do next with this next lot of doe…” She discreetly takes out the wedge of cash she’s made already, poking it out to show it off to Tuco. “Nice nice.” He says with a grin, and pats the side of his car. “Need a ride?” He asks, poking his head out to look around for anyone who could be watching. Following his gaze and wondering what he’s looking at, she turns on her feet in silence, wanting to get back to work. “I still have work to do. I know a couple more places I wanna hit.” As she talks, she takes at her phone from her pocket to check the time, seeing it’s quarter past 3 in the afternoon. Tuco looks disappointed, and somewhat annoyed that she’s turning him down. “Aw come oooon, take a break! This can be your reward for all that dough you made me.” He says excitedly while keeping an eye around them. The woman looks up from her phone briefly and puts it back in her jeans pocket. She wants to decline, but he somehow persuades her. A smirk appears, then she finds herself walking around the blue car to get into the passenger seat. When the time passes, Tuco pulls up outside of his building, finding that everyone has left and gone home. Shrugging her lips, Nik suddenly takes out her joint kit that she had in a small transparent bag, starting to roll up crushed weed in paper. She doesn’t even think to ask Tuco for permission first. He looks over and stares in silence, raising an eyebrow at her. He sits there with his hands on his wheel, tapping his fingers on it as she starts to become impatient. After a second, he turns his head to glance out the window. 

 

Turning his engine off, he opens his door and looks at her again. “Do that Inside. I’m getting bored.” He says bluntly, and steps out onto the sidewalk. Nik, who is still in the car, gets annoyed by his lack of patience and continues to roll up, doing it a little quicker. Seconds later, she tuts under her breath and grabs the door handle to aggressively open the door, gathering her cig materials with her grip. She slams the door shut, and digs into her back pocket to look for a lighter. Meeting Tuco at the entrance, she starts lighting her joint that she luckily finished, hanging it in her mouth. “Hey, what are you doing out anyway?” She asks curiously but also wants to be nosey. Tuco looks over his shoulder at her. “Why do you want to know? You think I don’t have a life?” He chuckles, looking around the street. He holds out his arms either side of him as she watches her. “I have this whole fucking town to run. I’m like...the governor drug lord.” He jokes. Nika’s eyebrows rise up as he talks, thinking about how highly he thinks of himself. Before she could answer him, Tuco walks inside and up the stairs. She casually looks around the street before heading inside, following him up to his office. She smokes her joint, letting the smoke fill up the stairwell. “I’ve heard people call you worse…” she jokes, but knows she shouldn’t do that again, know what Tuco is like when angry. Stepping into his office, he walks over to his desk and plops onto his chair. “Bitches always have shit to say.” He says quietly, then gestures his hand at Nika as she appears at the doorway. “Close the door behind you, Russia.” He commands while taking out a bag of cocaine from his drawer. Following his orders, she bats her hand behind her to push the door, and keeps on walking towards the second chair in the room. Also plopping herself in the chair, she relaxes by hanging one leg off of the arm, making the other sit normal. She uses her arm to prop up her head and uses the other to smoke her joint. In silence she blows smoke into the air, not noticing her care-free attitude. 

Noticing this, Tuco starts chuckling while sticking his knife into the bag of white powder. “Fuuck you’re really enjoying yourself!” He cracks up. “If you were a man-“ He pauses while pointing a finger at her. “-You wouldn’t be sitting like that. You’re lucky I like you.” He suddenly takes a hit from the tip of his knife and tilts his head back. Shaking his head faintly, he shoots up and goes to a punching bag he has hung up, starting to violently take jabs at it. 

The female gives a delayed laugh, and makes her head follow him around the room, leaving her body in the same position. “I thought you liked your boys too, I mean...you DO have enough of them around here. Like fucking flies around shit...” Hanging her joint between her lips, Nika watches him hit the bag, watching it swim side to side with his every punch. Tuco shrugs and glances at her, not really sure how to reply to her, and keeps punching with his bare hands. “I treat them how I treat them.” He says between punches, when his arms suddenly get tuckered out. He holds them up in a stretch, and starts to pace the room. “So what do you do...you just sell my shit and get on with your day?” He asks while standing just in front of her next to his desk. Nika watches him closely and parts her lips to speak. “Uhh, I have a normal life job that gives me shit money.” She explains as vaguely as possible, not wanting him or any of the dealers to know her private life. Now silent, she takes out her cig from her mouth to look at it, randomly observing its shape. As she does this, the man nods and gestures at her to hand over the blunt. “You know it’s rude to not share.” He jokes. His phone suddenly starts to ring, so he sits in his chair and takes his cell phone to start talking. While he’s busy talking to the faint voice on the other side, Nika lifts her leg to sit it next to the other and stands up slowly. She steps in front of the desk and rests her front on the edge. She bends over and uses her arm to prop herself up while handing him the joint. He takes it with a pinch and puffs on it, leaning back in his chair. Nik keeps listening to his conversation and smirks at him cheekily. Tuco eyes her in silence and gives her a smirk back, getting weirdly attracted to the woman. She keeps smirking and thinks he’s just being himself, then pushes herself back up to sit back down in her old position to let her head hang backwards. She stares at the ceiling to let her high do its thing. 

After a few minutes, Tuco hangs up the phone and places the last bit of paper into his almost full ashtray. Now leaning forwards, he stares right at her and picks up his bag of coke, holding it out to her. “Here, join me. You shared, I’ll share too.” His voice is a mutter, but it makes Nika lift her head to watch him. It was then when she noticed the bag, and starts smiling at it. Her eyes glance at the man's eyes and immediately looks back at the powder. She soon leans over to grab the package out of his grip, then opens it up to dip a finger into the white substance. Scooping some out and balancing it on her finger, she observes it closely. After doing so, she sniffs it up quickly and hangs her mouth open as well as tipping her head back. In reaction, she squeezes her eyes shut and breathes heavily. Tuco, as usual, cracks up laughing in response. “Hell yeah! Fucking hit that shit.” He smacks his desk with one hand and keeps laughing. “Know what? You should party with me sometime. You’re a fun chica.” He smirks and points at her. Having a rough reaction to the drug, Nik laughs it off and shakes her head slowly, then brings her chaire closer to the edge of the desk. She rests her elbows onto the wood and rests her head in between her arms. She tries to deal with her high quietly. “I just might. One day, maybe…” Giving him a half sarcastic thumbs up, she rubs her head with Her other hand. The man keeps laughing at her reaction to it, and keeps on watching her with narrowed eyes. “You never had cocaine before?” He says while leaning back with a smirk. “You’ll be okay. Maybe stand up and do some jumping jacks?” He jokes yet again. Nik doesn’t find this amusing and lifts her head to look out of the now dark window. “In your dreams.” She says quietly. Looking rough with her eyes narrowed and her hair slightly messy, she takes out her phone as she speaks. “Yeah, many times...but not with anything else.” Noticing it’s almost 6pm, she drops her cell to the table between her elbows, now staring at Tuco with almost closed eyes. “Time for me to hit it soon. Gotta head to my other home.” She jokes while sounding tired and frustrated, two common side effects to her having drugs. Tuco raises a brow and smiles at her face. “Leaving already?” He huffs, looking at a clock in his office. He shrugs his lips. “Alright…” He says calmly with a faint tone of agreement. “I’ll see you around Russia. You keep doing what you're doing, we’ll have more times like this.” He waves his hand when she doesn’t move, now looking angered. “Get the fuck out, I need to see my abuelita.” His voice gets louder and more frustrated after the coke He Inhaled. 

Fairly quickly, Nika stands up and collects her phone, shoving it in her hoodie pocket. Not wanting to make him more annoyed, she heads straight for the door. With her back turned, she bats a hand in the air as a goodbye. “I’ll be back in the morning for more shit. Until then, see you around.” She looks over her shoulder to see him not really paying attention, then turns back to walk through the office entrance. The door closes behind her, which ends her night of drug inhaling with the drug lord of Albuquerque. She stands at the top of the dark stairwell and tugs up her hoodie, preparing to head home. She checks that she has her stuff, and slowly makes her way down the stairs, already waiting for the next time she has to climb them.


	2. Red van man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can probably tell from the title, you can guess who is going to be making an appearance ;)

Nika’s journey home seemed like it took forever, Constantly looking behind her back because her conscience is telling her too. She finally gets to the pathway of her Aunt’s house. With her hands secure around the product in her pockets, she walks up the path until she needs to open the door. As soon as the door is pushed open, Nika calls out for her family member. “Aunt??” She shouts loudly, aiming her voice at the stairs and the hallway, gaining no answer. When realising no one is home, she heads straight for the kitchen while taking her jacket off, hanging it over a chair that she passes. The young girl starts to snoop in the cupboards for any bottles of alcohol she likes. Pouting, she searches the selection that the Aunt has, not seeming impressed by it. “Damn you need to restock...cheap shit is all you have.” She mutters to herself while grabbing the most decent bottle of the bunch. Closing the door with her knee, she leans against the kitchen counter and pours herself some whiskey into a glass. While doing this, she notices a pile of letters stacked neatly to the side of her. Being her curious and nosey self, Nik fans them out and takes one randomly. She starts to casually read the paper while sipping her drink. But as she reads on, her face drops, and her fingers slightly loosen from around the glass. A frown forms on the girls face as she realises what the letter is about. 

Almost 5 minutes, later the Aunt enters the house. The door shuts loudly as the Aunt chimes happily, expecting her Niece to be home. “Niiikiii?” She asks while walking through the house into the kitchen with her arms full of grocery bags. The niece stares blankly at the paper, which has fallen limp in her hand. In shock, Nika knocks back the whiskey just as the Aunt enters, and snaps an evil glare at her. Tears start to form on her eyelids from knowing what the letter says. The aunt sets the bags down on the dining table and turns around to be greeted with Nik’s negative expression. She frowns at her, standing still. “Nik…? What’s going on?” She comes closer and stops when she sees the letter in her hand. The aunt covers her mouth as she begins to understand the reason behind her niece’s attitude. Her hand slowly drops to her side, now looking worried. “You weren’t supposed to find out.” She mutters. Becoming more furious, Nik glares at the Aunt without saying a word. A single tear falls, and slides down her rosey cheek. Suddenly, Nika grits her teeth and throws the letter in the air towards her Aunt’s direction, showing her frustration. She quickly pushes away from the kitchen counter and storms past Auntie to head towards the table to grab her jacket. Watching her niece, the Aunt stands there awkwardly and holds her own arm, feeling guilty for not telling the truth about her health. “Nik-” She says and immediately breaks down into tears. She sits down at the table and covers her face as she weeps. “3 MONTHS??” Nik suddenly screams while tugging her jacket onto her arms. She feels angry that her own Aunt didn’t tell her about her cancer diagnosis. Leaving the letter on the floor, Nik scowls at the crying lady, not considering her emotions at that moment. “3...fucking months you knew...and it’s terminal...isn’t it?” Nika’s face turns red as she starts to cry. Her anger at boiling point, she smacks her hand loudly off of the table to let out her frustration. Aunt doesn’t react to the loud smack as she knows what Her niece is like when at this level of anger. She uncovers her face but keeps her face low to avoid eye contact with the angry girl. She continues to cry and tries to calm down to speak. 

“Nik, I didn’t want you to worry...I-I thought keeping you in the dark would be best. You’ve been getting your life back and-“ She suddenly stops and stares at the pile of letters on top on the counter. “-I’ve signed everything in my will so it will pass over to you.” The Aunt looks back at her niece who still looks angered. “You’ll be fine. You’ll have the house and whatever little I have in my bank account.” She stops talking to frown sadly At Nika, who stands hunched over in front of her. 

Not believing what she’s hearing, Nika narrows her eyes at the woman and leans more towards her, using her hand to lean her weight on the table beside her. “Are you...fucking kidding me- FUCK all that! Fuck that, I don’t care about that shit!” Shouting, she sits down but turns away from her Aunt’s direction. “ ‘Getting my life back’...” she repeats. “WHAT fucking life?? Crashing here and couch surfing? Having a shitty job with no money to live from? Yeah...I’m totally living in the fucking stars right now…” Nik takes a deep breath and grabs handfuls of her hair, trying to calm down. Staring at the floor, she breathes slowly and speaks in a more calmer tone. “what did they say? The doctors...what did they EXACTLY say to you…? She asks while moving her arms to lean on the table, still avoiding eye contact. The Aunt keeps her eyes focused on the table while whiping her eyes. She inhales before talking. “I have two years if I’m lucky without treatment.” She slowly raises her head to look at her niece with her red eyes. “...I don’t have the money for it.” She admits. “But I’m trying to stay positive.” She forces a smile. This annoys Nika, and makes her shake her head at the woman while glaring. “Don’t...don’t smile at me…” She drops her head into her hands and closes her eyes, sighing heavily into them. The only thing on her mind is the future and health of her beloved Auntie. Now knowing the lack of money that she has, Nik now tries to plan on how to find enough to fund the treatments. While doing this in complete silence, the mixture of weed and coke still flows around her system, making it difficult for her to fully concentrate. All of these thoughts getting to her, she starts to get overwhelmed and drops her arms onto the table surface, uncovering her face. “You have savings, don’t you? You had a wedge of cash in the bank, use that!” She shouts at her Aunt again, sounding almost like an order. “I...I really can’t cope. Without you being here...your the only person in this family that hasn’t fucking disowned me…” That thought crushes Nik and makes her whimper. 

Now becoming calmer, the Aunt watches Nika closely. “I can’t afford treatments and pay to even live in this place, you know that.” She goes quiet while watching Nika’s silence. “Please Nik. Don’t be like this. Don’t hate me...I don’t want to be alone on this...I can’t die alone.” She pauses, then bows her head as she starts to cry again, thinking she’s already lost her relationship with her niece. “I’m so sorry.” The Aunt whimpers and tries to stand up so she can go to her bedroom. She pushes the chair under the table. “I got a bottle of wine and ice cream for you from the store…” She says through gasps of air, and walks past Nika while holding her arms against her body. As she passes her, nika’s sight glazes over so her Vision is only a blur. She stares away from her Aunt as she disappears from the kitchen. Nik stays completely silent and sits like a statue, still in complete shock about the situation. Her tears have stopped for now, but her cheeks still have tear residue on them. When alone, the girl starts to come back to life. She sighs and sniffs up, rubbing her forehead. “Fuuck…” she whispers, and bangs her head off of the table top. She stays there in silence for a short while until forcing herself to get up. Remembering the wine that her Aunt bought, she heads over to the grocery bags and digs through them until finding it. When found, she opens it and is careless enough to drink straight from the bottle. Her demeanour is angry and her facial expressions show this. Leaning against the counter again, she keeps taking gulps of alcohol while gripping the edge. She closes her eyes and tries to forget all that’s happened within the last hour. Just as she was starting to feel calm, her phone starts to buzz in her jeans pocket. Nik ignores it while being in a too bad of a mood to answer. 

Time goes by until Nika gets bored. Having half of the bottle left, she paces the halls of the ground floor while trying to keep quiet outside her Aunt’s bedroom. While doing this, her drug buzz is still flowing around her brain, and her phone is still buzzing in her pocket. Sighing, she whips out her phone in annoyance to see who it is. “...Damn it.” She whispers, noticing it’s her friend Sebastian. Nik watches her Aunt’s bedroom door and walks past it to sit on the first steps of the stairs. She answers it, holding it lazily against her ear. “...Seb.” She sighs again and closes her eyes. “Sup?” She mutters, already sounding tired and worn out from the evening. “Hey girl what you up to?? So I’m sitting here at my place, bored out of my fucking mind, and I thought… ‘hey, you know who could hang out with me’?” He jokes and laughs while he smokes a joint at his end of the call. Nik smirks and leans her elbows on her knees, laughing quietly. She rubs her eyes and keeps smirking at his quirky chatty tone. “I’m guessing you’re calling to see where I’m at huh? Uhh…” she takes the phone away from her ear to glance at the time, then brings it back. “7:30. Uh...ok, fine. I need to get out of here anyway. I’m actually…” she laughs sarcastically. “-really fucking pissed off right now.” Hearing this, Sebastian blows out his lips loudly. “Then come over. I can cure the bitch right out of you. I can have some of my straight friends come over if you like? You know the ones. Muscular, tanned, big brown eyes. All tatted up and ready for fuun.” He teases down the phone while sprawled out on his couch. On her end, nika covers her mouth to stop herself from laughing. “They sound like the guys I work with…” she gets up from the stairs and walks back into the kitchen while quickly finishing off the bottle. “Since when do you have straight friends? Your gayness almost turned ME gay once.” She jokes while grabbing her jacket, knowing Seb has the same humour as her. “That would be a grace from God sweety.” He jokes back, and takes a long drag of his blunt. “And since when am I not allowed to have straight friends? You’re straight. Unless you are actually gay and you’ve been lying to me.” He laughs. “Get your ass over here, I’m bored.” Rolling her eyes, Nika tugs on her coat while holding her cell by her chin and shoulder. “Shut the fuck up and get the drink ready, I’ll be there soon. It’s dark so I’ll hurry up.” She leaves the house pretty quickly after hanging up the call. Locking the door behind her, she storms down her neighbourhood to avoid any trouble that lurks through the night. 

Eventually, Nika appears at the front door to Seb’s place that sits in a quiet area. Banging her palm on the door, Sebastian opens the door while smoking the same joint. He obnoxiously blows smoke right into her face, being his usual playful self. “Come in come in. Come into my lovely home.” He looks around outside the door as she walks inside, and shuts it after her. He follows closely behind her as they both sit on the couch. “So you said you was angry. What has your panties in a knot?” He asks. Just as he finishes, Nik huffs while resting her head on the couch back cushion, staring straight at the ceiling. “Umm, let’s see…” she starts off sarcastic. “I just found out that the only person who loves me is literally dying, and is too poor to have any fucking treatment to have a shot at living…” she nods slowly while staring blankly, and turns to her best friend with a pouty mouth. Seb’s hand drops to his bent knee, looking shocked. “Your Aunt?” He asks, then leans more into the couch to get ready for the info. His free hand lightly taps her shoulder. “Tell ol Sebby your troubles.” He encourages, wanting to feel helpful. As she stares at Seb, a smile forms, finding him funny. She relaxes more into the sofa and huffs. “I...am fucking...pissed off. Annoyed...angry...pissed off…” Just as she begins, Seb Offers her his joint to share. Nik takes it with a pinch and starts to puff slowly. “Just to clarify, I’m not pissed because she’s sick. She didn’t tell me until tonight...she had a fucking letter 3 fucking months ago and I read it, which was how I found out.” She takes small breaths so she doesn’t get angry again. “...and now, she’s fucking… too poor to afford the treatment let alone to live. And I don’t know what the fuck to do.” She stares at the blank TV, overthinking in silence. Sebastian listens carefully with a small frown as she talks, then suddenly reaches over the arm of the couch to grab his bong. He rests it on his lap and begins to prep it up. “Have you thought about whoring yourself out?” He leans in as he takes a hit from it, and exhales into the air. “I do for extra cash. And you know I have fun doing it. “He winks at her with a nudge of his brows. Giving him a funny look, she finds his comment funny and leans in to slap his head playfully. “Ew no fucking way. Sure you have fun doing it but, fuck that! I have morals, and a dignity to keep clean.” She lays down while the joint burns, resting her head next to his bong on his lap as she takes up most of the room. Watching her take up his personal space, Seb rolls his eyes but smiles. “Giiirl, I don’t have an OUNCE of dignity left in me. I do what I do to live comfortable. And well…” he smirks down at her. “I like dick, so what can I say.” He starts to feel the effects of his bong after its constant use throughout their conversation. Nika smiles up at him, then sits up to lean right up against him, flicking his head as she does. “I’m not becoming a whore. Case closed. I don’t exactly think that my Aunt will approve if I did.” She sits back on Her ass and takes off her jacket while looking around the living room surroundings. “I just need to ask for extra work at my second job. I’m sure Tuco will find extra product to give me, He seems to like me more than his home boys.” She smirks at that fact, then shrugs at her friend. 

“He likes you huh…” He takes another hit and relaxes back against the couch while watching her. “Why not do extra favours for him if he likes you. It’s just one guy.” He starts to giggle at her, genuinely thinking its a good idea. Nika smiles and closes her eyes after his comment, beginning to grow annoyed at his whorish idea. “Stop...with this stupid ass idea. When I say ‘like’, I mean he prefers me. Tuco wouldn’t even DO that. He’s too...I dunno. He’s my boss. I have to stay professional and calm around him.” She throws her jacket on the floor, then leans back over to push his head to one side. “Help me think of useful ways to get money or I’m leaving!” She jokes and pulls away to take off her boots. He cracks up laughing while holding his bong in one place. “Calm your ass.” He continues to giggle while letting his head rest against the sofa, closing his eyes. “I’ll talk to some of my connections and hook them up through you. How does that sound?” He asks. Now calming down, nik giggles and smiles in an oddly nice way, and pats his shoulder to show appreciation. “...get me money. In some way, any way.” She goes quiet and wraps her arms around herself to get warm. She sighs peacefully and closes her eyes while sat up. “I want my Aunt to live. Did you know...she’s the only member of my family that wants anything to do with me? Yeah, that’s how hard I got it back home.” She goes silent and dips her head towards her knees. With a huff, Sebastian puts his bong away in his lamp side cabinet to hide it. “You want to crash here for tonight?” He asks tiredly while rubbing his eyes. Nik nods her head without looking up, grows more tired as she thinks about her family and Aunt. Seb then stands up and stretches his arms. “As my guest of honour, I will gift you a blanket for the night.” He disappears to the closet and pulls out a blanket and pillow. As he re-enters the living area, he tosses both items at her. “Now, do me a fucking favour and get a good night’s sleep.” He points at her as if it was an order. He turns off the light then walks off back to his own bedroom where he gets ready for the night, leaving Nika on her own. The room is in pure darkness, which is how she likes to sleep. She buries her head into the blanket and lets her mind spill into the dreamworld. 

The next morning, Seb wakes up early and decides to take a shower. He comes out in his colourful robe and makes a lot of coffee. As he passes by the living room, he throws a small pillow at Nika to wake her up. He whistles while he preps the coffee to get her attention. Once the pillow hits her head, She starts to wriggle under her blanket and whines, not being a morning person. She grabs the pillow and throws it away, annoyed that she was woken up. As she opens her eyes, she sudden closes them as her vision is blurred. A sudden headache forms from the bottle of wine she drank before crashing at Seb’s. She whines louder. “Seeeeb you big gay whore, what’re you doing…?” She laughs, knowing he’s cool with the banter. Being his usual dramatic self, Sebastian looks over his shoulder and pouts. “This big, gay, whore is making coffee.” He declares as he fills the pot with water. “You need anything hun? I’m thinking of making some pancakes. And before you fuckin decline me, you know you love my cookin. So don’t even giirl.” She spins back around to finish up. Nika grunts and sits up quickly, watching seb with sleepy eyes. Her hands straighten out her messy bed hair. “I do want pancakes...but I have work in, like, 30 minutes…” She says, then stands up to meet him in the kitchen. “I’ll take a rain check, but I’m holding you to it.” She pokes his side. “Hey, got any eyeshadow or eyeliner? Not going to work looking like this…” she points at herself while shaking her head. While getting the ingredients to make pancakes for himself, Seb looks at her. “Oooof course I do. In my bedroom. Just don’t use it if you have pinkeye or some weird ass disease.” He jokes and starts to mix the ingredients in a bowl. Nik rolls her eyes and looks up at the ceiling. “Aww fuck that, I’ll just look ugly today. It’s only a bunch of weird drug dealing Mexicans anyway.” She drinks her warm coffee while checking she has her stuff in her jeans pockets. She quickly swigs her coffee and puts the mug down next to seb, leaving it half full. In a rush, she grabs her jacket and heads for the door. “Ok fuck you, I’m getting out of here.” She winks at seb and opens the door. He laughs as she heads to the exit. “Uh huh...you enjoy your day with the Mexicanos. Maybe you’ll get that pay raise.” He wiggles his eyebrows at her with a smirk. Before leaving, nik gives him the middle finger, and slams the door behind her. 

Some time that same day, Nika ends up back at Tuco’s for another drug visit. Tuco is minding his own business in his office. He looks up when he sees Nika walking towards his desk. He smirks and stretches out his arms. “Ruuussiaaa.” He chimes happily while pointing at her. “You can’t resist me can you?” He jokes, then Gestures at the chair in front of him. “Have a fucking seat and tell me what you want before I get bored.” His happy tone soon disappears as he sits back in his chair. Nika strolls over to him but ignores his offer of sitting down. Instead, she leans against his desk to seem charming and charismatic. “I’m not staying, I got shit to do. I just wanted to pick up my next batch to deal today, then drop off the cash later on. “ she explains with a smirk, looking over at the window. Slowly, Tuco stands up and goes to his stash and starts putting it in a bag. He holds it out to her. “Tomorrow. Drop it off tomorrow.” He clarifies slowly, and sits back down. As she watches him wearingly, she takes the bag and rolls it up into a ball. She frowns down at it. “N-not today? It won’t be a problem? I need to see you later anyway...to talk to you.” She keeps her eyes facing down. When he doesn’t answer, she looks back up and frowns. “Let me swing by later. It will take too much time to explain now. My customers will be wondering where their morning hit is.” She taps the bag just as she says that. Tuco watches her hands and just sighs. “Whatever, bring your ass by later. I don’t care.” He says and then waves at her to leave. “Go.” He now shouts, wanting to be left alone. Thinking its best to stay silent, nika turns around and quickly leaves the room, exiting the building as quickly as possible to begin her meth rounds. 

It takes her all day to visit her usual drug spots, knowing who hangs at each place. She visits her usual customers first before hitting up new places. The day almost over, she calls to a couple more spots that she knows of while on route to the hideout. Just as she starts walking, a couple of guys drive up and start cat calling her, expecting her to be a hooker. The guy in the passenger seat looks her up and down while winding down his window. “You selling?” He asks with a smirk and the other guy laughs. “My friend here likes the weird ones.” They both laugh at her. Nika watches them with a frown, and stands there with her hands in her jacket pockets. “What exactly are you looking for? My English isn’t exactly on point.” She says sarcastically to give them shit. The driver looks at her funny. “What the fuck are you, German?” He asks about her accent. The other guy looks at him as if he’s stupid. “Obviously Russian You fucking idiot.” He corrects him, then turns back to her, leaning his elbow on the open window ledge. “So. Me and my friend here are looking for some fun, if you know what I mean…” he speaks quieter now. Nika’s eyes widen and feels slightly insulted to be called a whore. She laughs and begins to walk away in her original direction. “I’m not a fucking whore, sorry.” Leaving the guys there, they both drive off, leaving nika in a questionable looking neighbourhood all on her own. As she walks, she keeps looking behind and around her to see if they left. Realising they did, she smiles while zipping up her jacket and pulling up her hood, but starts to feel a little uneasy. She keeps walking, and the sky gets darker and darker until the streets are in darkness. Now not being too far from Tuco’s building, she begins to walk faster. 

Soon after, a black car suddenly appears behind her. The windows are dim and are too dark to see through. It inches behind her like they’re stalking her, or simply waiting for a cue. Nika is oblivious to this and doesn’t even hear the car engine. Her head is facing the floor as she strolls at a quick pace, her brain thinking over everything that she needs to do to help her Aunt. Suddenly, a red van stops at the crossing in front of her and looks like it’s either in on it, or waiting. The two men inside look like they’re keeping a close eye on her and the car behind her. The black vehicle keeps inching towards her, but before it can doing anything further, the guy in the passenger side of the van quickly hops out and starts walking towards her. He whistles to get her attention, making Nika look up with a surprised expression. “Hey.” The guy says, trying to act like they know each other. “I got confused about what street you said you were gonna be on.” The stranger says. Once he’s close enough, he signals at the car behind her, and suddenly whispers. “Get in the van and we’ll take you to Tuco.” Nika gets weirded out by the stranger and grows confused. Narrowing her eyes, she turns her head around to stare at the black car. She turns back to the guy and immediately notices the red Van. “Uhh...right. Ok? So I should suddenly trust a stranger?” She asks like a smart ass while walking with him anyway. As they head to the van, she feels odd and slightly frightened by what's happening. As they approach the van, the driver keeps an eye on the car while the other guy opens the passenger door. Nik stands there, still looking confused. “Get in and crawl into the back.” He orders. Nika stares at the Mexican looking man and follows his orders. She calmly gets into the van and climbs between the seats. Gripping the passenger seat from behind, she sits on her knees in the darkness. Nik stares at the driver, not getting a Clear vision of him. “So, Uhh...what the fuck is happening?” She looks back and forth at both men. “Clue me in guys! I just got into the back of a van with 2 men that I don’t know. Good thing I don’t see my mama…” she half jokes, but starts to get annoyed. The driver looks into the rear view mirror at her. His eyes seeming intense, he looks back forward and starts to drive. The passenger sighs and looks annoyed. “We saved you from a kidnap. Be grateful.” He says. The driver stays quiet but glances at her again through the rear mirror. “If you were to lose Tuco’s supply and money, what do you think would happen to you?” The driver asks suddenly. Nika huffs at his question and rests her head against the passenger seat, secretly frightened but doesn’t dare to show it. “Uhh, well...he would have literally killed me because that’s the kind of shit Tuco does. To be honest, if the car got me, I don’t think I would have stayed alive to bare witness to that anyway.” She shrugs and becomes silent, trying to mentally calm herself. 

“And what if it was a cop?” He asks right after and keeps focused on driving. The other guy huffs with amusement. “I don’t think she gets it yet.” He says while gesturing behind him. He turns around in his seat to glare at her. “Don’t deal on the street.” He says as if it’s obvious. After hearing this, she lifts her head which is now close to the passengers. She frowns while staring at him blankly, shrugging her lips. “Oh. Ok, so...where the fuck should I do it then, huh??” She starts getting angry and looks at the driver, bringing herself closer to the gap of the seats. “It would be great if you can give me some fucking ideas. I have a life... and unfortunately I need money for that.” Nik talks in a foul tone as she’s also annoyed by the situation. As the van drives, she tries to steady herself so she doesn’t stumble. “Where are we even going…? And who are you two? I’ve seen you before…” she says in thought, watching the driver. Suddenly, the van stops in front of the street that leads to Tuco’s building. “We won’t tell Tuco.” The driver says and finally looks over his shoulder, revealing most of his face. “But you have to promise to stay off the fucking streets.” Nika closes her eyes and sighs, not used to taking other people’s advice. She gives in and opens her eyes at the guy. “Fine. I fucking promise…” she shrugs, not really caring, and sits on her feet while crossing her arms. The van starts up again and drives on. Both guys begin to have their own conversation in Spanish. The driver smiles at something that the other guy said and giggles a little. They stop in front of their destination and exchange a few more Spanish sentences. The passenger looks at the girl again. “You can get out through the back.” He motions at it lazily. Driver guy keeps his eyes fixated forward. “What’s your name?” He asks randomly. Before answering his question, the woman slams the backdoors shut and appears at the driver side door. She leans into it by her shoulder and smirks. The driver opens the window. “Nika.” She watches them both with her black smokey eyes surrounding her blue ones. “I suppose I have to say thanks...for not letting me get taken by some weirdo.” She cracks a smile. The driver smirks back, being oddly impressed by her attitude. “I’m Ignacio.” He holds his right hand out of the window for her to shake. She nods slowly and holds his hand, shaking it firmly. “I knew I saw you around here before. Your another one of Tuco’s dealer boys.” She takes her hand back and rubs her arm, starting to feel cold. She looks down at her feet, waiting to be excused. Ignacio smiles, finding her funny. “We’re close, yeah.” He says, not wanting to give too much of his personal life out to her. “Just...stay off the streets.” He says, trying to help her with some friendly advice. Nik smiles at Ignacio and steps backwards, pointing her thumb in the direction she’s heading. “Ok, I’m going back to his place anyway…” she gives him a thumbs up and immediately strolls away. “Have a nice evening fellas. And...thanks...again.” She says without looking back. 

Nacho doesn’t say anything back and just watches her walk off, making sure she’s in a safe territory. He looks back at the passenger and suddenly starts to laugh. They chuckle at the awkward experience they just went through, and talk about her in Spanish, mentioning her looks and accent. 

Now that she’s safe, Nik is more alert than before, and looks behind her at the red Van that is still parked up. She huffs, and finally arrives at the infamous building. She stops outside and breaths in slowly, still taking in the experience. She pinches her eyes, then disappears up the dark stairs to meet with the drug lord.


End file.
